The old servant and life in the mansion of the Xiangyang governor

(Baonghean.vn) -The wives and daughters of the mandarins also had to weave and embroider. The mandarins worked in a room called the tea house. When they needed help, they rang a bell.

The Lang Vi family in Phuc village, Don Phuc commune, Con Cuong still preserves many documents of the Nguyen Dynasty.

Originally from Hung My, Hung Nguyen, Nghe An, Ngo Quang Tu was sold to the Tuong Duong district governor at the age of 5. The 78-year-old man currently lives in Phuc village, Don Phuc commune (Con Cuong). He spent his childhood in the mansion of Lang Vi Nang, the last district governor of Tuong Duong district.

Paralyzed at the age of 13 due to typhoid, Mr. Tu had to depend on his nephew who called him uncle. He said that when he was young, he tried to return to his hometown but had no relatives left, so he had to accept living in a foreign land.

Regarding his difficult childhood, Mr. Tu recalled: His father participated in the Soviet movement - Nghe Tinh and was pursued by the protectorate government. He fled to Laos and then returned to the country but had to hide in the mountains. Being so desperate, the father was forced to sell his son to a feudal official.

Mr. Ngo Quang Tu talks about his days living in Tuong Duong palace.

Around 1942, 1943, his father sold Mr. Tu to Lang Vi Nang's mansion for the third time. He had been sold twice before but had escaped both times. This was also the last time he saw his father. From then on, his life was tied to the Lang Vi family, once a prestigious family. He was adopted by Lang Vi Nang as an "adopted son" but was not allowed to join the family and lived in this mandarin's mansion until 1947 when he followed his family to several different places. In 1950, he returned to settle in the mandarin's hometown in Phuc village.

Portrait of Lang Vi Nang, mandarin. Lang Vi Nang is worshiped at the house of his eldest son, Lang Vi Tinh, in Phuc village, Don Phuc commune, Con Cuong.

He spent most of his life in poverty, so the short years in the government house (in Xa Luong commune - present-day Tuong Duong) were the best time of his life. Tuong Duong was one of two government houses run by Thai people from the French colonial period until 1945. Currently, the only ruins left of Tuong Duong government are the entrance gate. A banyan tree is planted on the gate arch. A school was built on the site of the government house more than half a century ago. "Closing my eyes now, I still remember every house in the government house," the old man said.

The Xiangyang Palace Gate now has only one gate left. For more than half a century, the place where the palace stood has become a school.

According to Ngo Quang Tu's description, the main gate of Tuong Duong government faces the Nam Non River, a tributary of the Lam River. There is a rattan bridge across the river leading to the government gate. Going straight in is the central house, where the ministers, secretaries, security guards, and the court work. The government officials work in the tea house next to the central house. When there is an urgent matter, they ring the bell placed next to the table. The soldiers, hearing the command, immediately run to the government to order the work.

Behind were the government house and the school house. The government house was where the family of the government official lived. The wife and children of the government official often did embroidery in the school house. It was a spacious stilt house. The daughters of the government official were also taught embroidery by their mother. Every week, the children of the government official were also taught Chinese characters and French by their teacher. Therefore, all of Mr. Lang Vi Nang's older daughters were good at French.

In 1945, the government fell into the hands of the revolution. Mr. Tu recalled: “After handing over the seal to the Viet Minh, Mr. Lang Vi Nang’s family continued to live in the palace until 1947 when they moved out.”

Paralyzed since childhood, with no training in education, Mr. Tu has spent over 20 years participating in literacy classes for the villagers of Don Phuc and Cam Lam communes, Con Cuong district. He is known as “Teacher Tu” by the villagers.

You Wei